Roosters secure preliminary NRL finals spot against Broncos

The Sydney Roosters have beaten the Canterbury Bulldogs to secure a preliminary NRL finals showdown against the Brisbane Broncos.

The Roosters defeated the Bulldogs 38-12 in a drama-charged semi-final at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium on Friday night, with Shaun Kenny-Dowall scoring three tries.

Before a tense crowd of 35,711, the Roosters led 8-4 at halftime before a controversial Kane Evans try in the 52nd minute opened the way for the minor premiers to lay on 30 second-half points to overcome last week's upset loss to Melbourne.

Dylan Napa and Boyd Cordner led the way for the Roosters up front as coach Trent Robinson's ploy of running the massive Dogs pack ragged paid big dividends.

Kenny-Dowall and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck backed up their forwards with big metres as the home side ran away with the contest late.

In his last game for the club, Super League-bound back-rower Frank Pritchard was the Bulldogs' best as their season came to a disappointing close.

After an early James Maloney penalty goal, Kenny-Dowall scored the first try of the match when Blake Ferguson batted a kick back and the Kiwi winger slid his way over.